EFCC Drops Cybercrime Charges Against BUK Student, One Other

The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has ordered the withdrawal of cybercrime charges against two Nigerians, Maryam Isah Shehu and Abubakar Shuraim Abdulhamad.

The two were arraigned separately before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday, August 20, 2026, over allegations of cybercrime and publishing malicious information about the EFCC.

Shehu, a final-year student of Bayero University, Kano (BUK), was accused of using her Instagram account to make allegations against EFCC officials, including claims that commission officials assaulted a man and that a zonal director collected N20m from another individual.

Abdulhamad, who uses the X account @shuraimi, was accused of posting a fabricated image designed to resemble an official EFCC arrest placard and identifying a man as an EFCC suspect.

The EFCC said the charges against the two were brought under Section 24(2)(c) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015, as amended in 2024.

However, Olukoyede directed that the charges be withdrawn after considering a plea for leniency from Shehu’s father and appeals from well-meaning Nigerians.

The EFCC said the chairman, while acknowledging the commission’s position on the alleged offences, “nonetheless, considered the passionate pleas and apologies” before ordering the withdrawal of the charges.

The commission, however, warned that it would not tolerate what it described as wilful attacks on its image through any medium, platform or form.

Olukoyede assured Nigerians that the EFCC would continue to operate within its statutory mandate and in the best interests of the country.